Selecting a Vehicle Tracking System

When it comes to selecting a vehicle tracking system for your business, to track your fleet, the choice may seem daunting, but in this article we help you prepare to make the best decision for your business.

1. Ensure you know what you want to achieve – immediate needs
2. Understand how vehicle tracking might help your business, beyond immediate needs
3. Choose a company that is easy to deal with
4. Avoid commercial and technical lock-in

Typical Priority Benefits

• 5-33% reduction in accidents
• 0.5-4 hours saved per day on team’s manual tasks
• 5-50% reduction in fuel costs
• 5-35% lower maintenance costs

Return on investment

Given the average cost of a tracking a vehicle for a month is around $15 or £12, the likelyhood is that this will be recovered within the first week, giving each vehicle a 3x benefit vs cost per month. (excluding the installation cost).

Select the Right Vehicle Tracking System

Know what matters to you, your current needs and your expected future needs for your tracking system. For most organisations with a modest fleet the primary needs for a vehicle tracking systems are:

1. Know where my vehicles are so that I can rapidly adapt routes.
2. Know where my vehicles are so that we don’t lose any temporarily or permanently (theft recovery).
3. Know where my vehicles are to reduce accidents and traffic violations
4. Have a record of vehicle usage for tax reporting and planning

Vendor Selection Dimensions:

The choosing a vehicle tracking system can be structured as follows:

1. FIT – Does the solution does what it needs for your business. (features and price)
2. EASE – Is the solution easy to install and use (try it)
3. FRIENDLY -Is the company is easy to deal with (integrity, flexible, accessible)
4. GROW – Will the solution accommodate your future vehicle tracking needs.

Fit

Look to see if the solution does the essentials that your business needs for a fair price. Most companies will find that most solutions will do what most first time buyers need. However, check a) that the vendor manages the system, rather than being a sales agent for someone else. b) check that the pricing and payment terms involve no lock-in to lengthy contracts. Some vendors may not be prepared to work with small business (less than 10 vehicles). Some vendors may be targeting consumers rather than businesses, avoid these.

EASE

Try the system and make sure that it does what you need to get started.

FRIENDLY

Is the provider easy to communicate with, do they do what they promise, try phoning for support and see what answer you get – before you buy.

VISION

Does the solution offer valuable options that you might not need now but could grow into especially:

• Integration options to other systems
• Driver ID tracking
• Event sensors
• Dashcam video feed (even when the vehicle is stationery)

Selecting a vehicle tracking system for your business, may seem challenging but when you take into account these considerations, it will become a lot easier to make a good decision, first time.